Here's the fifth and last Elite 50 update. I promise. Like I mentioned in my last blog, all the sports and the top 50 schools have been finalized, and we’re putting the finishing touches on our freshman interviews.

After speaking with about 10 freshmen from colleges across the nation, one thing is evident: all these young athletes took their time when making their college decisions. They looked at the athletic and academic sides equally and made an educated decision based on their specific needs. A lot of them stressed the importance of getting to know coaches and players during campus visits because that’s who you’ll be spending the most time with for the next four years. The campus atmosphere and feeling comfortable with the school’s surroundings were just as important. There’s an abundant amount of useful information coming your way early December, so make sure you read each article.

One issue that we’re having right now is the organization of our Elite 50 content. Our managing editor Rachel Trem needs to have complete packages to send to our design team. A complete sport-specific package consists of the chart, photos, photo credits and captions. To make this process easier for Mrs. Trem, we put together an excel document outlining each stage for every sport.

The excel file contains columns that identify the progress of interviews and articles and if artwork, photo credits and captions have been gathered. Instead of just yelling across the room to get updates on the status of every piece, Rachel can go into each sport’s folder and check the excel file and get instant feedback. If a sport’s row is highlighted in green, that package is ready to be edited and sent over to the design team. Rows highlighted in yellow indicate that items still need to be collected. I’m bringing this up because I thought we were done with excel files until next year. However, the excel madness continues.

On another note, I’m responsible for securing the cover shoot with our number one school. This process has been frustrating to say the least. My deadline is quickly approaching, and it’s been difficult getting things set up at this particular school. The process is a little more complicated than you think. The school’s media relations director has to get athletes from multiple sports in the same room at the same time. This can be a challenge because of their different schedules.

Don’t worry though. I’ll guarantee you that when you receive the STACK Elite 50 College Rankings issue, there won’t be a blank cover.

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